Faster than Hyperloop!(total transit time)... and So Much More.

What is a TERREPLANE Transit System?

Terreplane offers incredible performance from a new approach to transportation. The slideshow (right) provides a straight-forward explanation of how it works.

The TERREPLANE Transit System is a revolutionary and disruptive transportation system capable of land-based travel at speeds from 90 to over 700 miles per hour. The vehicle is a land-based flying vehicle!Applications range from person vehicle commuter travel, to mass transit, to near-sonic travel between cities in low pressure tunnel corridors. It is both faster and much less expensive than alternatives. Energy consumption is estimated at 20% the energy of alternatives as estimated at a lift:drag ratio of 14:1; if lift:drag is half that (worst case), 40% the energy.

ELEGANTLY EASY TECHNOLOGY

WILL IT FLY?

TERREPLANE is capable of low-pressure tube transit like Hyperloop, but it is also capable of ultra-low cost commuter transit...all in one network. As a commuter and trans-continental transit system, access to stations is quicker; and so, it is faster than Hyperloop. Initial port access (airport, train station, sea port) and transit systems will allow TERREPLANE to realize a full return on investment in a couple years and be self-sustaining in their expansion. In fact, the new era company that replaces AMAZON will not be about internet marketing, it will be about faster...cheaper...same-day parcel service that networks manufacturers to consumers...welcome to the start of that new era.

The basic components of the TERREPLANE Transit System include:

A Vehicle that is a high-speed glider aircraft

A Connection Arm that connects the Vehicle to a Propulsion Carriage

A Linear Motor Propulsion Carriage that pulls Vehicle along a Propulsion Line through the propulsion forces of the Propulsion Carriage Tube with the Propulsion Line

A zipline-like stationary Propulsion Line along which the Propulsion Carriage travels; this Line (also referred to as a guideway) and is kept straight by connections to a support such as a support cable.

Terreplane Components (Click to Enlarge)

Terreplane Flying (Click to Enlarge)

Terreplane is different than any other transportation system in history!

The TERREPLANE Transit System is a design based on a philosophy of embracing nature and what nature has provided to allow for efficient transportation--nature provides aerodynamic lift...even for land-based transit systems. See slideshow to right on performance advantages.

The above large image shows the vehicle flying as being pulled along the propulsion line. The below image shows the vehicle at rest and supported by the propulsion line. The propulsion line is: a) relatively inexpensive, b) located over the vehicle, c) supported to provide straight travel, and d) able to help support the weight of the vehicle at rest.

PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGES

Terreplane Resting (Click to Enlarge)

The Terreplane Transit System is poised to replace all high speed rail transit, all future (evacuated) tunnel transit, most mass transit systems, most jet aircraft transit (excluding over seas), and much of automobile transit for both passenger and freight. It offers an advance for society that surpasses what railroads did in the 19th century. See slideshow to right on answers to common questions.

No road or rails are needed below the vehicle, and so, the cost is a small fraction of alternatives and construction is a fraction of the time--the only guideway is this zipline type propulsion line. That zipline is considerably less expensive than railways and highways; less than one fifth the cost; and that is why the network would be vast and payoff quick.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Heuristics (rules of thumb) for Design of Land-Based Transit Systems

Heuristics are rules of thumb used in the design process. They can be based on thousands of man-hours of research or common sense. Here are common-sense heuristics on advanced land-based transportation:

Use inexpensive guideway (avoid high capital investment).

Use air's lift to advantage (to reduce or eliminate need for other suspension).

Do not use air skis or air thrust in tunnels (air skis are inefficient at low pressure, air thrust pushes against next vehicle in tunnel).

Demand wide versatility for increased market and inter-connectivity (the same system can be used for local and inter-city transit).

Use efficient and vehicle-controlled switching (provides ability for personal routes).

Provide for great up-side potential (evolve to faster service, cars that can enter or exit guideway).

Minimize environmental intrusion (footprints as low as one post per half mile are possible).

Power directly from electrical grid (grid power provides access to renewable and nuclear energy, avoiding batteries reduces weight and inefficiencies of conversion).

Enable local and national economic development (local industry can be the greatest stimulus for local innovation).

(for low pressure systems) Tube Pressure is one of the most important design parameters, it should be a value optimized for optimal economics rather than set arbitrarily.

How do key new transportation efforst in the US rate on these heuristics (opinion)?Hyperloop - 0.1 out of 1.1, only Heuristic 10 is on track.California High Speed Rail - 0.2 out of 1.0, Heuristics 3 and 9 are to track to be met.Terreplane - 1.1 out of 1.1, all Heuristics are on track.

Engineering Discussion (slideshow) - Aerodynamics

Key points on aerodynamics:

With sufficient speed, there is no question airfoil-shaped vehicles will fly.

The challenge is one of minimizing energy for flight.

Terreplane consumes about 80% less energy than a jet because of: a) less total weight per passenger, b) fuel driving to/from airport, c) electrical grid power is more efficient, and d) aircraft altitude and transfers cost fuel.

Terreplane should have similar Lift:Drag ratios as an aircraft, but even if Terreplane only has have the L:D ratio, it will only consume about 40% of the fuel of air transit.

Currently, air transit and inter-city rail are the most efficient transit at 51-55 passenger miles per gallon (gasoline equ.).

The major cost of any ground-based transportation system is the guide way (or highway). Guide way costs can be in excess of $100 million per mile. In cities, Terreplane can go above highways. In the country, Terreplane can go above railway tracks, above the ditches of interstate highways, from hill-top to hill-top, and above marshes. Bridge costs are eliminated. Terreplane can piggyback on existing bridges with minimal cost--no additional Bay Bridge would be required in San Francisco.

To a first approximation, the Terreplane PER-MILE system costs are like a high-voltage power line. The costs are less than 20% of the lowest-cost land-based alternative.

﻿HEURISTIC #2﻿ - Use air impacting the front of the vehicle to reduce suspension needs.

This image a high speed train and the momentum vectors illustrate what should NOT be done with a trans-sonic vehicle. Namely, do not design so impacting air pushes the front of the vehicle downward.

In this illustration:

Impacting air has a momentum toward forward-facing surface of the train

The train surface forces the momentum vector to change following the contour of the train

Laws of conservation of momentum dictate that a downward force of the train must be equal and opposite the change in vertical momentum of the air

NASA's hypersonic aircraft provides an example of a design where forward impacting momentum is converted to lift to the point where wings are no longer needed.

For trans-sonic land travel the preferred nose design is like the X-43A with momentum vectors as illustrated by the following figure. The momentum of the impacting air, alone, is enough to eliminate the need for suspension during high speed travel. Vehicle surfaces provide the lift while flaps and connections to an overhead Propulsion Carriage provide control and stability,

Heuristic 1 basically states that when a vehicle must overcome the large amount of air drag of trans-sonic travel, the energy spent overcoming that drag is best spent creating lift on the vehicle and reducing or eliminating the need for other suspension.